A Beginner’s Guide to Markdown Syntax

Table of Contents

1. Headings
2. Paragraphs
3. Text Styling
4. Images
5. Examples

Headings

Headings are created using the hash symbol (#). The number of hashes determines the heading level:

# Heading 1 (Largest)
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6 (Smallest)

Important Tips:

• Always put a space after the hash symbols
• Use heading levels in order (don’t skip from H1 to H4)
• Only use one H1 per document

Paragraphs

Creating paragraphs in Markdown is simple. Just separate your text with a blank line:

This is the first paragraph.

This is the second paragraph.

This is the third paragraph.

Best Practice: Don’t indent paragraphs with spaces or tabs.

Text Styling

Bold Text

There are two ways to make text bold:

**Using asterisks**
__Using underscores__

This word is **partially** bold

Italic Text

Similarly, there are two ways to italicize text:

*Using single asterisks*
_Using single underscores_

This word is *partially* italicized

Combining Bold and Italic

You can combine both styles:

***Bold and italic***
**_Bold and italic_**

Images

Images follow this syntax:

![Alt text](URL "Optional title")

Example:

![Cute cat](assets/img/frontyard.jpeg "My cat")

Breaking down the parts:

• ! - Tells Markdown this is an image
• [Alt text] - Description of the image (shown if image fails to load)
• (URL) - The image’s web address or file path
• "Optional title" - Text shown when hovering over the image

Examples

Here’s everything put together:

# My Travel Blog

## Trip to Paris

Last weekend, I visited **Paris** for the first time. The *Eiffel Tower* was ***amazing***!

![Eiffel Tower](assets/img/frontyard.jpeg "Paris at sunset")

### Places I Visited
- Notre-Dame Cathedral
- The Louvre
- Arc de Triomphe

I can't wait to visit again!

Pro Tips:

1. Be consistent with your styling choices (stick to either asterisks or underscores)
2. Use headings to create a clear document structure
3. Always include descriptive alt text for images
4. Leave blank lines before and after headings for better readability
5. Don’t overuse formatting - if everything is bold, nothing stands out!